Platforms like Facebook were asked to ensure that political ads and AI deepfakes are clearly labeled under the DSA ahead of the election.
Hundreds of millions of Europeans will go to the polls on June 6-9 to elect new Parliament representatives, who will set the bloc’s agenda for the next five years. EU governments are worried about a surge in Russian meddling that could sway voters’ opinions. A French minister even warned that the country was “overwhelmed with propaganda.”
But Meta has also been quizzed by regulators for months over other issues such as how it tackles illegal or harmful videos uploaded by users to its social media sites to more general concerns over disinformation and how young people use the company’s digital services.
The Commission asked Meta to respond in October about material linked to Hamas’ attack on Israel and in November sought information on election integrity. In December it asked the company about mental and physical health concerns about how minors used its services and also about its algorithm and sexual images of minors.
Just last month the EU asked for information about algorithms, deepfakes, Meta’s new ad-free subscription model, its Threads app and how it limits the visibility of some accounts or posts, known as shadow banning.
Meta spokesperson Ben Walters said the company has “a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms.”
